Neighborhoods unite to protest park moves

KATHY MULADY AND KERY MURAKAM, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

By KATHY MULADY AND KERY MURAKAMI, P-I REPORTERS

Published 10:00 pm, Thursday, February 23, 2006

Diane Duthweiler paints a sign in her garage with neighbor Clara Manahan, 10, for a rally Saturday against Seattle Parks and Recreation. Organizers say the department runs roughshod over residents in making decisions.
Photo: Meryl Schenker/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

First it was the plastic grass at Loyal Heights Playfield that upset neighbors. Then the four-story garage at Woodland Park Zoo caused an uproar. Next came an outcry over plans to cut down 17 trees at Occidental Park.

There were battles over where to put a skateboard park in Lower Woodland Park, and finally, fury over the surprise move of the summer concert series to Gas Works Park.

In each case, concerned citizens and neighbors say they were left out of the decision-making process or never notified that major changes were planned at their neighborhood parks.

On Saturday, representatives from a half-dozen neighborhoods plan to get together for a rally to draw attention to what they say is a citywide trend of trouble in working with Seattle Parks and Recreation.

Residents fighting the zoo garage plan are organizing the rally.

"We found out that we are not alone in our frustration with the parks department," said Diane Duthweiler, who is involved with the zoo issues. "We want to show that we are hundreds and hundreds of people who are unhappy and tired of being ignored.

"I am ready to ratchet this up a little."

Park officials say much of the opposition to the various projects comes from small groups of residents in each neighborhood who don't necessarily represent the rest of the community. They say their decisions have to take into consideration the greater good of the entire city rather than the preferences of a few.

Ultimately, "there's a broader perspective than that of the people who live around the park," park Superintendent Ken Bounds said.

In the case of the zoo garage and skateboard park, neighbors say, they agreed to one location, then saw it "switched" by Seattle Parks and Recreation later without much notice or further neighborhood involvement.

In the past year, other neighborhoods have battled the park department on projects. Two lawsuits were filed recently, one to stop the removal of 17 mature trees at Occidental Park in Pioneer Square, the other to halt the concert series' move to Gas Works Park until an environmental impact study is done.

Bounds said that other than the decision to move the concert series to Gas Works Park, each of the other controversial projects involved extensive public processes. In some cases, the department held extra meetings in response to neighborhood opposition.

William Arntz, past chairman of the city's park commission, said neighborhoods themselves are often split over controversies. He defended Bounds against the charges that he ignores the wishes of communities.

"Jiminy Crickets, that's just not true," Arntz said. "You're always going to find someone not thrilled with a particular action and usually it's 'NIMBY-ism' " -- Not In My Back Yard.

Councilman David Della, chairman of the City Council's park committee, said he has directed the park department to prepare a business plan that includes a strategy for working with neighborhoods more effectively.

"I don't think they have been as proactive in working with the community as they could be," Della said.

Councilman Peter Steinbrueck said removing any greenery, especially from a downtown park, is an "outrageous assault."

"I am hugely dismayed about how the city is responding to some of our parks issues, especially at Occidental with the chain-sawing of 17 mature trees," said Steinbrueck, who plans to attend the rally Saturday. He said he's also concerned about the commercialization of city parks.

Residents say it seems park officials have their minds made up long before holding community meetings.

"It is a patronizing approach, people can smell it and don't like it," said Jim Anderson, who opposes synthetic turf in his Loyal Heights neighborhood park.

Anderson said he plans to attend the Saturday rally and bring his neighbors.

"A weird side effect of this shoddy park process is that neighborhoods are getting connected," he said. "They are uniting like never before."

A surprise announcement by Parks and Recreation in December that the Summer Nights concert series would be moved to Gas Works Park caught residents off guard.

"Initially I was kind of awestruck. I couldn't believe this was happening without the community being involved," said Cheryl Trivison, a board member of Friends of Gas Works Park.

Bounds said the summer concert series relocation required a quick decision.

"If we spent two months in process then (the series) wouldn't have happened. It was the call I had to make."

But some Pioneer Square neighbors have filed a lawsuit to stop the city from cutting the trees. Last weekend, activists tied green ribbons around the marked trees.

"There has been a steady and determined effort to undermine citizen involvement under this administration," said Bif Brigman, who opposes the tree cutting and is one of the activists who filed the suit.

Brigman went to a Woodland Park Zoo garage meeting held by community members a few months ago and said he was struck by the similarities of what he heard.

"I saw that Pioneer Square was not alone and that the experiences we were having involving our parks were occurring across the city," he said.

Woodland Park Zoo neighbors said they welcome the support.

"I think all of us need to get together, because as individual neighborhoods they dismiss our concerns as NIMBY-ism," said Roberta Nelson, who is involved in the garage issue at the zoo.

Bounds said moving the zoo garage location and building it above ground was a matter of saving money -- about $12 million. It also will relieve parking congestion on nearby streets, he said.

"Financially it was a no-brainer for the elected officials," Bounds said.

Neighbors question whether the garage is necessary, or whether it will be used. They also say the zoo's other development plans, for an events center and new office building, are too much for the historic park.

"This is about the legacy of Seattle and protecting the beauty of its parks," said neighbor Duthweiler. "Once you have ruined your parks, it is hard to get them back."